December romance
by Foxgloves-H
Summary: Kuroo finds shelter under a bridge on a rainy December evening. He meets a blonde boy whose withdrawn behaviour interferes with Kuroo's attempt of having a conversation. What happens when the two unexpectedly meet again? And what is Kenma hiding? Rated M for future chapters.
1. On a rainy evening

**Well hello ;3**

 **This will be a multi-chapter story. I made the first chapter pretty short as an introduction but the next ones are supposed to be much longer. Enjoy!**

December weather surely made itself felt with biting wind and heavy, relentless rain which melted the snow gathered in the previous days. Tonight was no exception and the few people caught outside in the streets quickly found shelter under the roofs of countless stores, each decorated accordingly in preparation for Christmas. Kuroo was not one of them. There were only small drops of rain falling down when he left from work and as they progressively grew more violent there was no store in sight. His only choice was a small bridge nearby. With his jacket pulled over his head as his only protection against the stingy drops, he ran under the arch, letting himself slide against the wall with a content sigh.

Surprisingly, he wasn't the only one seeking shelter in such an unusual place. Kuroo shifted his attention to the small boy, intent on playing on his cellphone and paying close to no attention to his presence. He couldn't see too well in the darkness, though he could have sworn the kid was in middle school.

''Whew, you got caught in the rain too?'' He took off his jacket, pretty drenched after protecting his head. Oh well, it could've been so much worse. He was also really cold but he supposed putting his jacket on again would only result in him catching a cold and having to stay in bed for the next few days.

''Yes.'' The answer came in a tone laced with disinterest. That wasn't enought to stop him, though. He was stubborn by nature. ''Do you live nearby, by the way? If you walked a bit longer or stopped a bit sooner you could've found a store or somethin'.''

''I didn't think it would be this bad.''

''Yeah, same happened to me. The weather's just getting worse, huh?''

''Yeah.'' He turned slightly to look at the boy, annoyed with his lack of interest in having a conversation. Don't kids these days know the value of actually speaking without their phones?

Admitting defeat, he took out his phone as well, glaring sharply at the 'no signal' warning. Perfect. Couldn't be better. He spent the remaining time counting the empty cans scattered around the place. 27 in total. He had to start over again a few times but that wasn't his fault, it was way too dark to see clearly. It was around 21.30 pm when the rain finally slowed down and he mentally thanked God; he wasn't used to not speaking for such a long time. He got up, ready to leave, but stopped and glanced at the boy one last time.

''Well, I'm leaving. See ya.'' They probably wouldn't see each other again, but leaving without saying anything seemed rude, even though the boy paid him no attention once again.

The rain slowed down quite a bit but Kuroo arrived home dripping nonetheless. After taking his shoes off and throwing them somewhere along the corridor, he made his way over to the bathroom where he could finally take care of his clothes. He tossed them carelessly in the laundry bin and put on his pajamas, grey pants and white top. As he got into bed, he couldn't help wondering if the boy got home as well.

 **A/N:**

 **Okay, this was it. I know it was really short but they will get longer, I promise. This is one of my first stories and I also don't have a beta reader so I'm sorry for any mistakes you may have found. Please let me know what you think.**


	2. Nekoma

"KUROOOO!"

He woke up to the sound of his pesky friend's loud voice. Focusing on ignoring it, he turned on his side and moved his head under the pillow. Bokuto entered his room, unfazed by his lack of response and what it may have implied. The boy jumped on his bed and rudely snatched away his pillow, eliciting an annoyed groan from his friend.

"What the hell man, I was sleeping!" Kuroo whined, yawning.

"Yeah, I noticed, I'm not blind you know." His friend answered gleefully, with no intention of giving back his pillow.

Admitting defeat and giving up on the thought of going back to sleep, Kuroo assumed a sitting position, stretching his arms. He yawned again with half-closed eyelids as Bokuto spoke.

"There's a party tonight. At Hinata's place."

"What, his mom's letting him throw a party?" Kuroo asked amused, making fun of the younger boy even though there was actually only a two-year difference between them. His lips curled upward in a cat-like grin and Bokuto laughed.

"So it seems."

After a while Kuroo finally convinced himself to abandon the cozy feeling his bed offered, stretching his stiff neck and back. He must've been sleeping in an uncomfortable position. Softly scratching the back of his neck, Kuroo made his way to the closet and pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans and a white cotton sweater.

"I don't think I can make it, I'm working tonight." He answered his friend's indirect question as he got dressed, as fast as he could to avoid exposing himself to the cold for too long.

"Awh come on, skip it." Came his friend's idiotic suggestion, at which he promptly rolled his eyes.

"I can't dumbass. Maybe I'll try to stop by after work." Kuroo hummed, wearing a dark red scarf around his neck.

"What really?!" Before he could get prepared or at least see it coming, Bokuto jumped off his bed and on his back taking him by surprise and sending both of them sprawling on the floor.

"I SAID MAYBE."

They walked together to work, seeing as the bar where Kuroo worked was near Bokuto's own working place. It had snowed heavily the night before, covering the city in white and cancelling the traces of the previous storm. Their breaths came out in small clouds as they talked and snow fell down on them. They sometimes glanced at the stores' windows, containing multiple versions of the traditional Christmas tree along with various other decorations. They separated as soon as they arrived in front of the bar, the Nekoma sign surrounded by colourful lights.

The place was cramped as usual; people went in to drink a coffee or have breakfast before heading off to their own destination, each of them deeply lost in thought or conversating, coccooned in the warmth the bar offered.

He made himself a coffee as well and sipped it occasionally as he served the clients. Kuroo thought about the party and wondered if losing a night's good sleep was actually worth it; he had work the morning after and didn't really want to miss it.

Owner Nekomata stopped by a few times to check everything was in order and gave a few orders here and there while he was at it. The owner had a pretty carefree personality and although he did have fun tormenting his staff members, he cared deeply about them.

The bar also had a medium sized Christmas tree adorned by everyone with red and white pretty decorations. They chose the colours together, simple yet appealing, and the girls took care of the shopping part. After turning on the small lights wrapped around the tree, the owner gave it the final touch: he stepped on a chair and arranged a white star on top of it. Altogether it gave the place a warm, relaxing atmosphere which did a great job welcoming the clients.

Given the bar's reputation it was pretty crowded around holidays, so lunch break lasted just long enough for Kuroo to fill his stomach.

"Tetsurou! Stop wasting time back there and come help me!" One of his female colleagues' voice reached his ears and he grinned once again, making his way out of the staff members' room.

"You shouldn't take advantage of people even as they're on their break, Santa will see you." He answered in a mocking tone, smiling at the girl as he approached the counter.

"Oh shut-"

The door opened with a loud noise, interrupting the girl and catching everyone's attention.

"KUROOO!"

A familiar voice reached him as he felt a déjà-vu from the morning. Hinata approached him with an embarrassed Kageyama following close by, most likely on Sawamura's suggestion. "You have to come tonight! Everyone will be there!" The boy whined, crossing his arms.

"I swear I would have heard you even if you didn't yell." Kuroo answered ignoring Hinata's actual question, grinning again. Hinata blushed as some of the clients quietly chuckled.

"So are you coming? I asked Sawamura for a break to come ask you!"

"I'll think about it when I finish here." Kuroo answered, preparing a black coffee for one of his clients. "Shouldn't you go back? Sawamura will come look for you and we have work. But if you want to stay I can get you a juice and some toys to keep you company." He mocked, chuckling as Hinata blushed even harder.

"Let's go, you moron." Kageyama stepped in, catching his teammate by the collar of his jacket and pulling him away, most likely agitated by the sudden attention Hinata managed to get them in such a short time. The boy didn't seem to mind, given that he didn't even try to fight him.

"BYE!" Hinata said with a big smile, waving a hand in their direction as he was dragged away. Kuroo returned to his duties as did the others, still smiling after the sudden visit. He thought about the party again. Bokuto woke him up pretty rudely and he kind of wanted to get to sleep as soon as possible but at the same time he didn't want his friends to throw a party without him.

Should he go.. or not?

Oh well.

 **A/N:**

 **Okay, this is it. Kenma will appear at the party in the next chapter. What is our little pudding head hiding? huhuhuh**

 **Sorry again for any mistakes you may have found but really, this is my first time working on a long fanfiction (and my second time working on a fanfiction at all, cough) so yeah.**

 **Let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

Kuroo left the bar at about 8 pm and was seriously thinking to go straight home and sleep. He kept working extra hours because of how busy the place was around Christmas and it was tiring him out so much he barely had any time to rest properly.

He decided otherwise, though, and found himself in front of Hinata's door, knocking, after no longer than 15 minutes. It didn't take long before Hinata opened the door, smiling upon seeing him. The boy obviously didn't expect he would actually show up.

"Kuroo! You came!" His friend exclaimed, inviting him inside.

"Yeah well, I thought I'd stop by and light this party up." He answered while taking off his jacket and shoes, his signature grin pulling at his lips.

"Hey hey hey! Don't get all high nd mighty, we were doing just fine!" Bokuto butted in, smacking an arm around his best friend's shoulders, feeling more than happy to see him.

"Get off you stupid owl, I could hear you whining coz I wasn't here from miles away!" Kuroo retorted, poking at Bokuto's cheek.

Hinata laughed at the two making a scene, as usual, and showed Kuroo where the drinks and food were. He then headed over to Kageyama, with whom he started a pretty heated conversation Sugawara was trying to moderate.

After separating Bokuto from himself, Kuroo glanced around the room. A brightly lit Christmas tree already took its reserved place in the corner. Tanaka and Nishinoya were fighting next to it on whover should get Shimizu something to drink. The girl's younger friend was there too. Sawamura and Azumane were peacefully talking to some boys he did not know. Akaashi was speaking to Tsukishima and didn't bother paying attention to his hyper boyfriend. The shy kid who always followed Tsukishima around was there as well. His eyes wandered to the far corner of the crowded room, his attention caught by the isolated figure sitting on a chair.

His jaw dropped.

"What?" Bokuto asked curiously, following his gaze.

"What's a middle school kid doing here?" Kuroo asked, completely abashed; although he seemed a little older and his features were better defined under the light of the room, Kuroo was certain he was the same kid from the night before.

Bokuto seemed confused for a split second before realization crossed his face.

"Oh. That's Kenma," he answered, "he's Hinata's friend. And he's like a year or so younger than you, y'know." Kuroo's disbelieving expression almost made him laugh. He was so sure the kid was so much younger.

"He's really shy," Bokuto continued, "so Hinata asked us if we could keep him company sometimes. Tho he prefers playing on his phone so yeah. Wanna give it a try?"

Yes, that sounded just like the boy he met under the bridge.

Kuroo grinned.

"If we managed to make Tsukishima open up we can do anything."

Bokuto laughed. They made their way to the boy and Kuroo lowered himself to match his height, forcing him to look up and away from his phone.

"Oya, do you remember me?" He asked with a grin, pointing a finger at himself.

"No."

His face fell. Bokuto laughed so hard he started bending over, attracting some of the guests' attention. The hit he received from his friend didn't really help.

"Well," Kuroo coughed, attempting to hide his growing susceptibility, "that's ok, it was pretty dark after all."

Meanwhile, Bokuto caught Akaashi's arm as he passed by, snatching his drink and gulping it down before the other could react. He just couldn't resist it; Akaashi wasn't giving him enough attention. That didn't sit too well with his boyfriend and Bokuto received his second hit that evening, bending over again.

"But Akaashi! You're so mean!"

"And you're annoying!" Akaashi replied.

As they were bickering, Kuroo was left alone with Kenma.

"I'm Kuroo, by the way." He offered his hand, which the other didn't bother shaking.

"I'm Kenma." The boy answered, lowering his gaze on the screen of his phone yet again. He did not want to keep that conversation going and that was one certain thing but Hinata asked them for a favour and he was not going to disappoint him. If Kenma was a shy boy then he would get him to open up. So he got himself a drink and took a seat next to Kenma, fully aware the blond would try his best to avoid any kind of contact and push him away as much as he could. That was fine, he was ready to spend the damn night at that table.

"So," he started at one point, having already lost count of the times he tried to keep a conversation going. He was already on his fourth drink and feeling tipsy. "do you like bread?"

Kenma looked up, speechless. Out of the countless topics the man had brought up, that had to be the most idiotic one. The alcohol surely didn't help, though; he gave him that.

"I do." He answered, switching his attention back to the phone in his hands.

"Bread's nice, yeah. There's so much you can do with bread."

Kuroo spent the evening drinking next to Kenma. The others often stopped by to check on them, mostly Hinata and Bokuto, before returning to whatever it was they were doing. He didn't, though. He stood next to the boy and kept going on his attempts to conversate, failing miserably, the topics only getting worse.

It was way past 11 pm when Kenma suddenly stood up, making his way to Hinata and politely taking his leave. He had already stayed much more than he thought he would. Hinata escorted him to the door and let him go after making him promise he would send a text as soon as he safely arrived home. Kenma left, taking one last glance at the dark haired boy sitting sloppily at the table. Shouyou's presence comforted him even though he didn't stay with him the whole time and, maybe, he didn't hate the stranger's talking all that much after all.

The party died out at around 3 am. Akaashi, being one of the few still sober, took Kuroo home and also sent Nekomata a text to let him know the boy wouldn't be able to attend work the day after. Why? Because he was feeling sick, of course.

"Oi, Bokuto." Akaashi slowly patted his boyfriend, who was currently sitting next to him in the car, on the shoulder.

"Mh?" Bokuto was so tired he didn't even open his eyes.

"You coming over?" He asked softly.

"Yeah."

Akaashi drove home.

Kuroo woke up to the sound of his phone ringing, with a headache worsening by the second. He put the pillow over his head in a pitiful attempt to silence the sound. It didn't work very well. He moved the pillow away with a muffled groan and grabbed the phone, answering without even checking who it was.

"What?" His tone was the complete opposite of Hinata's cheerful one.

"Hey, Kuroo, did I wake you up?"

"Yes."

Hinata laughed sheepishly. "I need to ask you something. It's important."

Kuroo sat up, taking a pill from his top drawer and swallowing it. He really hoped his headache would recede soon.

"What?" He asked yet again, making his way to the kitchen.

"Do you remember Kenma? He's the boy from yesterday, you two spent the evening talking."

'I spent the evening talking, he spent the evening playing.'

"Yeah." He replied instead.

"He's looking for a job. I heard you needed someone at Nekoma's, do you think you could get him hired?" Hinata asked in a voice so full of hope he would have felt bad if he declined.

That boy honestly looked like anything but someone who worked with people to him but he agreed quickly enough as he took a snack from the fridge. They were indeed in need of someone to help. "Get him to come in tomorrow at 7."

"Woah, thanks Kuroo!"

"Yeah yeah, Kuroo the life-saver, don't mention." He answered, smirking.

 **A/N:**

 **Here it is. let me know what you think :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Kuroo was already serving the first clients of the day, mostly adults on their way to work, when the door opened and Kenma stepped in. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a red pullover topped by a a white jacket. Red gloves hid his hands from the outside cold.

Kenma's gaze shifted uncertainly around the room and he seemed relieved when he found Kuroo, the only familiar face.

Kuroo welcomed the boy with a wave of his hand and Kenma approached him hesitantly. On a closer inspection he looked exhausted; Kuroo supposed he hadn't slept much the night before.

"You look like shit." He stated calmly, adding sugar to the steaming coffee he had previously poured into a small cup. Kenma pouted, eliciting an amused laugh from Kuroo.

"Oh, is this the new kid?" Yaku drew near, introducing himself. "I'm Yaku, nice to meet you." His smile was warm and welcoming, blending so well with the atmosphere offered by the bar. It was a smile that Kenma did not return.

"I'm Kenma." He offered his own name, averting his gaze soon after. Yaku was clearly taken aback by the blond's reticence.

"He's shy." Kuroo hurriedly explained, placing a hand on top of Kenma's head. Yaku didn't look completely convinced but he let it slide, shrugging his shoulders and returning to his work. Kuroo let out a disconsolate sigh, doing the same. No one liked cold coffees, especially not during winter.

"Go leave your things in the back." He told the boy, pointing to the room behind him before making his way to the table near the window, serving the hot beverage to the young woman currently speaking on the phone. She gave him a sly smile to which he swiftly responded with his usual grin.

Kenma was already waiting silently near the counter when he returned.

"Do you know how to make coffee?"

"No." His answer strangely came as no surprise to Kuroo. He kept seeing him as a middle school kid and middle school kids did not drink coffee.

He was deeply thinking about what he should have the boy do when the perfect opportunity presented itself. A lovely couple entered the bar and occupied one of the tables in the room. Kuroo gently pushed Kenma forward. "Go ask them what they want. Try to sound polite."

Kenma looked all but pleased yet obeyed nonetheless. Kuroo eyed him warily as he made his way to the clients. He didn't think the blond would screw up but still, better safe than sorry.

He felt relieved when Kenma returned to the counter. There seemed to be no problems.

"Nice, your first clients!" He exclaimed with a parent-like proud smile, patting him on the shoulder. "So, what did they ask?"

Kenma didn't answer.

Kuroo's proud smile vanished.

"Well? The couple, what did they ask for?"

"..."

"Kenma!"

"I forgot."

"... are you kidding me?" Kuroo covered his mouth, stopping himself seconds before swearing loudly. He felt bad about it when Kenma started looking uncomfortable, though. He tried to release the tension that formed between them.

"It's fine, don't think about it. People make mistakes all the time, like I once spilled a glass of juice all over a little girl's face. Her mum hit me with the purse." He pouted at the memory, still considering himself to have been innocent.

Kenma smiled.

Lunch break came as a well deserved reward for everyone. Kuroo led Kenma into the staff's room, leaving the bar in Yaku's more than capable hands. Yaku had previously had his break while the two of them took care of the bar and it was now their turn.

"Shouyou didn't tell me I had to bring food." Kenma said, eyeing Kuroo as he cheerfully opened his sandwich bag.

"Oh. Right." He had forgotten to tell Hinata. That wasn't his fault either: he was dealing with an extreme hangover at the time.

He took out one of the two sandwiches he bought on his way to work and handed it to the boy.

Kenma frowned. "You don't have to."

Kuroo shrugged. "One's enough for me, I'll just grab something for the bar if I'm still hungry."

Kenma looked reluctant, but accepted the food without too much of a hassle.

"So, do you like it?" Kuroo tried desperately to initiate a conversation when he saw Kenma take out his goddamn phone.

He looked up, nodding. "It's fine." His gaze shifted once again to the screen and his body tensed in concentration as he started to play the game he seemed to be so fond of.

Kuroo sadly admitted defeat, for the moment, and took out his phone as well; the rest of their lunch break passed in absolute silence.

The day went by pretty smoothly. There were no more clients than usual and Kuroo made sure Kenma didn't have time to even touch his phone, let alone play. He mostly sent the boy to take the clients' orders, after giving him a small notebook for him to write them on. 'Just to make sure', he told him. Kenma didn't look happy at all at the idea of continuously interacting with other people, but apparently he needed the job too much to complain about it.

In the evening more and more clients arrived and everyone was busy doing their own duty. Yaku was taking care of the register while Kenma kept taking orders, careful not to mistake someone's request for someone else's.

He wasn't used to that kind of work and everything presented itself as a difficult challenge in his eyes. The orders were multiplying at an impressive pace and the fear of screwing up intensified. He felt insecure and suddenly everyone seemed annoyed, impatient as they called for him. It was as if they were silently condemning his incompetence with judging stares and hushed, mean whispers.

He suddenly felt at the center of the attention, even though he knew so well he wasn't. The room was spinning and he felt a familiar knot forming deep inside his stomach. A familiar feeling came crawling at him, taking possession of his mind and making him feel sick.

It was fear.

He thought he could handle it. He couldn't.

"Oi, Kenma, go see if the lady at the- Kenma?" Kuroo turned around, looking for the boy; he was nowhere to be found. "What the hell!" He groaned, clenching his jaw.

"Maybe he went to the bathroom." Yaku offered.

"I'll go look for him, can you handle this for a sec?" Kuroo asked, already heading to the back room.

"Sure."

He mentally swore to God, if he found the kid skipping work to play he would take both him and his phone and hurl them out the window.

"Oi, Kenma!" He called out, opening the door to the staff's room, scanning it. He saw nothing unusual and was ready to leave when he caught a glimpse of something under the table in the far corner of the room. Kuroo got closer, lowering himself on his knees, and swiftly lifted the red cloth covering the table.

Kenma had his knees pulled to his chest, his face buried in his arms. "Leave."

It was a soft whisper, not convincing at all.

"What's wrong? Feeling sick?" Kuroo asked, worry coating his words. Whatever Kenma had he didn't think it was too serious, but was more than ready to call an ambulance nonetheless. He was no doctor and surely didn't want to risk.

Kenma wanted to nod, because he really was feeling sick, but it wasn't the physical sickness Kuroo was most likely thinking about. He was aching so very much, but it was all in his mind and he knew it.

"Leave." He repeated, with more emphasis.

"No way, come out, let me help." Kuroo stretched his arm, grabbing Kenma's one. It wasn't a good idea, for the blond tried to get away, the touch making his stomach sink.

Kuroo let him go but quickly made his way to the door, blocking it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, do you want to go home?" He had no idea how to handle these things.

Kenma broke down.

He sobbed against his own will and the knot he felt deep inside his stomach wouldn't go away no matter how hard he tried. As if that wasn't bad enough, he felt trapped.

Kuroo was at a complete loss. He had to do something, the boy's state was only getting worse: he was now literally panting, tears streaming down his face. His body was trembling and it sure as hell wasn't because of the cold.

Kuroo tried to get closer once again, blocking Kenma against the wall. He lifted his hands and softly caressed the blond's arms. "You're fine. Look at me."

Kenma obeyed.

"Breathe. You're fine." It was such a cliché thing to say, but it was the only thing he was able to think about.

It mustn't have been as bad as he thought, though, because Kenma's resolve to push him away seemed to falter.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

Kenma nodded.

"I don't want to attract attention." The indirect request came in a soft, weary voice.

"Okay, that's fine. Wait here." Kuroo ran out of the room and soon found himself beside Yaku.

"What the hell kuroo? I can't-"

"We have to go, Kenma's not feeling well."

"What? What happened?"

"No idea, call Yamamoto and tell him to come help, I'll be back as soon as I can."

He was panicking, he didn't sign up for this when he accepted Hinata's request, damn it. He hurried back into the room, giving Kenma his jacket while grabbing his own. He stopped, looking at his scarf. Kenma was right behind him, still faintly trembling.

He placed his scarf around the boy's neck.

"There, now no one will see you cried!" Kuroo said, forcing a grin, and he felt better when it seemed to calm Kenma quite a bit; he raised the scarf, using it to cover part of his tear-stained face.

They left the bar quietly and without any troubles.

Kuroo held Kenma by the arm as he called a cab. The cheerful Christmas surroundings were in contrast to what the two of them were feeling; the colorful lights did nothing to help ease the pain Kenma was going through and the sweet man wearing a Santa suit passed by unnoticed.

"Will you be ok? Are your parents home?" He asked as they both entered the vehicle.

Kenma nodded, though Kuroo couldn't be sure the boy had actually heard him.

They stopped in front of a large building and Kenma stepped out of the car, turning to briefly glance at Kuroo.

"I'm going back to work." He explained. Kenma raised his hands to the scarf, with the clear intention of returning it to its owner.

"Don't worry, you can keep it for now." Kuroo smiled, watching closely as Kenma nodded and distanced himself from the vehicle.

He had the driver wait until the boy safely entered the building before leaving.


	5. Chapter 5

It was half an hour after the bar had opened that Kuroo realized Kenma wasn't going to show up.

Half an hour of constant glances to the door each time it opened, hoping to see Kenma step in. It was always just another client.

"Maybe he's still sick." Yaku suggested at one point, preparing yet another cup of coffee for himself; he needed more than one to actually be able to put on a sweet, gentle face in the morning.

Yeah. That had to be it. Kenma looked pretty shaken up the night before, maybe even had a fever, there was no way he'd be fine so soon. Kuroo kept telling himself that and it made him feel slightly better.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Bokuto walked into the bar, followed closely by Akaashi. Attracting attention was as natural as breathing to him and this time was no different; Heads turned and clients chuckled. It earned Bokuto a blow to the back of his head.

"You're so mean, Akaashi!" Bokuto whined, pouting just a like a little, three years old, annoying kid would.

"Only when necessary." Akaashi replied calmly, occupying one of the empty tables. Bokuto whined once again, sitting across from his boyfriend.

Kuroo approached them with a wide grin on his face. Their presence would distract him; of that he was sure.

"The usual for both of us." Akaashi ordered after he greeted them both. He made his way to Yaku and quickly returned with two cups of coffee which he carefully set on the table.

"Where's Kenma? Hinata told me he'd start working here." Bokuto asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

Kuroo shrugged; ah, there goes his idea of distracting himself. "He didn't show up today."

"Whaa? Why not?"

"Dunno. He felt sick yesterday. I had to take him home and leave the bar to Yaku." He scratched his head, recalling the events.

"Did you try calling him?" Akaashi asked and Kuroo didn't really like the gravity in his voice.

"I don't have his number."

"Well then get Hinata to pass it to you!" Bokuto said like it was the most obvious thing in the world and Kuroo observed him for a good 10 seconds before answering.

"Of course. I was going to."

He hadn't thought about that.

"No, you weren't." Akaashi interrupted him while sipping his coffee, eliciting a chuckle from his boyfriend and a well deserved glare from Kuroo.

There was absolutely no need to point that out.

Kuroo texted Kenma later that day. A short message asking him how he was and the reason he didn't come to work. Hinata had given him Kenma's number without prying into the reason he asked for it.

Lucky, Kuroo thought, because he didn't want to worry Hinata needlessly.

Kenma didn't answer, though. Not when he texted, nor when he called.

He had been restless during the whole day at work; people even started asking if he was okay, if he needed a break or maybe the day off. He didn't, damn it.

Kuroo checked his phone one last time before heading out of the bar in the evening. The biting winter cold was slowly seeping into his bones but it was nothing in comparison to the worry taking over his mind.

What if something happened to him? What if his parents weren't actually home? He should've gotten Kenma to his apartment before leaving. It was his fucking responsibility.

He took a cab and gave the driver the address Kenma offered the night before and was fidgety the whole 10 minutes it took for them to arrive.

Kuroo stood in front of the building. Fuck. Now what?

He stopped an old lady on her way out and tried to sound less like a potential robber and more like a concerned friend as he asked her if she knew where the boy named Kenma lived. She looked skeptical at first. So very skeptical. Now, Kuroo admits he doesn't exactly look reassuring but the lady's behaviour was so very offending him to the core. He was a very nice and gentle person, thank you very much.

After having managed to get the number of Kenma's apartment Kuroo was faced with yet another problem. He suddenly felt nervous as he stood in front of the door.

He gathered all the courage he had left in him and knocked on the door. His whole figure screamed discomfort, tense body and hands hidden inside the pockets of his jacket.

It was a woman who opened the door. She had long dark hair falling elegantly over her shoulders and sweet, golden eyes. Kuroo could have sworn she was Kenma's mother just by looking at her.

"Hi, uh, is Kenma inside?" He felt so out of place.

The woman didn't speak for a few seconds; too surprised apparently.

"He is. Are you a friend?"

"Kind of, yeah. More like a colleague, I guess?"

"Oh, I see. Please, come in." Now, Kuroo was so very tempted to just excuse himself and go away because Kenma was obviously fine and his mother was home but ah, a part of him wanted to know why he didn't come to work. He couldn't just leave after all the trouble he went through to find him.

Curiosity killed the cat, was it?

He followed the woman inside and she pointed to the hall. "He's in his room, last door on the left. You can go. Would you like some tea?"

"What? Uh, yeah, sure." He vaguely thought he should stop being nervous; he didn't even like tea! But it would have been rude to say no..

He knocked on Kenma's door and he felt relief wash over him as the boy answered.

"Come in."

Thank God.

Kuroo stepped inside and Kenma raised his eyes from the screen of his phone, gaping. He clearly thought it was his mother knocking.

"Hey. I sent you some messages. I also called." Kuroo said in an accusatory tone he didn't quite manage to control.

Kenma needed a while to close his mouth and reply; "Right, I didn't check my phone."

"That's a pretty dumb thing to say while actually holding your phone, you know?"

Kenma lowered his gaze back on the screen, then raised it again. "Right. Sorry." He actually had an apologetic look on his face and that made it so difficult to remain angry.

Kuroo sighed, sitting on the chair next to the boy's bed.

"Why did you skip work today?" He asked, letting his eyes roam around the room; it was plain, small but pretty clean, unlike Kuroo's one.

"I'm not coming anymore."

Kuroo's gaze snapped back on Kenma's figure, so intense that it made the boy lower his head again. "Why not?"

"I can't handle it."

"What kind of answer is-"

Kenma's mother stepped inside the room, holding a tray with two cups of tea. She smiled, leaving it on the table before leaving them alone again. She had such a sweet smile. Kuroo sipped his tea and almost choked.

Mint.

If there was anything he hated more than tea it was fucking mint. Mint tea was the perfect combination to leave him breathless. Literally.

"Are you ok?" Kenma asked and when he raised his head, he saw the boy holding back an amused smile. Smiling worked like a charm on Kenma and Kuroo vaguely thought he would like to see it more.

"I'm fine! So, why are you quitting?" Kuroo decided he would offer the cup of tea to Kenma later and ask him not to tell his mother.

"I'm not good with people and I don't want to interact with them. But I'm very concerned of what they think about me. That makes me feel really uncomfortable and out of place." He did seem uncomfortable and out of place just now, to be honest. And that made Kuroo feel uncomfortable as well.

Kuroo scratched the back of his head as his eyes travelled across the room, suddenly out of words to say. He felt bad about him, sure, but what was he supposed to do? He also wanted to ask him some other questions because he was obviously curious by nature but he was pretty sure questions like "so then you don't have other friends?" would sound kind of rude.

"So, do your parents know?" He opted for instead.

"Yes. My mother tries to make me new friends everyday but it never works. She was the one suggesting I find a job." Kenma almost always looked apathetic as he spoke and Kuroo wondered if he really didn't care at all or if he just masked it too well.

"I see." As Kuroo's eyes dumbly observed the wall in front of him, real thinking actually took place in his mind.

So, there were a few things he could do right now. He could go away and forget about it since it was not his problem and they were barely even colleagues, let alone friends, or he could try help Kenma because he liked the kid and would feel bad about just not doing anything.

The second option won.

"I wanna help you. Can I?" Kuroo asked, shifting slightly to look Kenma in the eyes. The boy looked surprised, confused maybe.

"Help?"

"Yeah, help. I don't know much about it but I can like search on google or something. You're afraid of interacting with people right?" Kenma nodded, and he continued. "Then first I'll become someone you'll like interacting to, then we can worry about the rest."

Kuroo shrugged as he finished speaking and he made it sound so easy, so doable that Kenma believed him. He really, really did.

Kenma nodded again, biting his lower lip in nervousness. Kuroo grinned, that cheerful, carefree grin he usually had and a warm feeling made its way into Kenma's chest.

"But make sure you come to work tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Long after Kuroo left his house, Kenma eyed his red scarf, carefully placed inside his wardrobe. Kuroo's smell was still strong on it and Kenma vaguely wondered why it felt so comforting.


End file.
